It’s General Election time in the UK, and we go again to the polls on 7 May with a more fractured group of parties to choose from than ever before, and voter apathy at its highest.
A while back I tweeted that in order for Labour and more specifically Ed Miliband to win, he needs to be ‘on brand’. This caused much derision as many followers said brand had ‘nothing to do with politics’.
No, it shouldn’t, but in amongst the policies, brand is now a major consideration when aiming to reduce voter apathy and appeal to first-time voters.
Needless to say, as we hit the home straight, brand and leader appeal is now a serious factor. Who wants to vote for policies associated with a leader such as David Cameron who can’t decide which football team he supports, and in the process proving himself as not necessarily the most reliable or authentic brand.
Ed Miliband should never try and high five a child on camera for fear that it may backfire as it did making his brand a little bit uncool, but ahead on trust.
Over the past five years in office, Nick Clegg has never regained the trust of others in his brand and is now overshadowed by the new emerging brands of Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party, who have as most new brands which speak differently do, established positive brand credentials amongst voters old and new.
Today’s society, whether we like it or not, is driven by brand appeal from the clothes, technology, food and beverages we choose and whoever endorses them. Yes, I and many others would like to see politics come back to policy irrespective of personality, but as society changes, perceptions are influenced and social media can sway your personal brand appeal in minutes, not hours.
When will politicians grasp that we want to vote for leaders who we trust and inspire all to make us want to realise our potential and the potential of our society to achieve, rather than false gods who will say and do anything to gain our vote and fail?
With no overall majority in sight, the UK is desperately looking for that inspirational leader and they must come along soon to change the outcome of British politics in 2020. In the interim, we will more than likely have to make do for the coming five years with one of the current mediocre potential leaders in office whose brand never quite achieved the equity needed amongst voters to secure an overall majority and represent the nation as one voice.
gekkofm 